Math, Science Achievement Up, But Reading, Writing Are Mixed

Students are doing better in mathematics and science than they did a
decade ago, but the changes in reading and writing performance are
mixed, the U.S. Education Department reports.

In general, achievement is about the same as it was in the early
1970's, according to the latest findings from the National Assessment
of Educational Progress.

"The nation's commitment to improve learning in math and science is
starting to show some rewards," U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W.
Riley said at a press conference held here last month to release the
data.

NAEP has been tracking student performance in the core academic
subjects for more than 20 years. About 31,000 students were tested in
reading, writing, math, and science in 1992 to produce the current
report.

Science performance declined sharply during the 1970's but has now
rebounded to its previous levels, although 17-year-olds still perform
below their 1973 benchmark. In math, 9- and 13-year-olds performed
better in 1992 than they did in 1973, while 17-year-olds performed just
as well.

Even so, officials warned, the upturn leaves much to be desired.
Although most students can read, write, add, subtract, and count their
change, they still flounder when it comes to more complex
problem-solving.

Mixed Results

The news about reading and writing was mixed. Average reading
achievement is at least as high, if not higher, than in 1971. But the
reading scores for 9-year-olds, which had improved sharply during the
1970's, are now back to their original level. And both reading and
writing performance have improved little since 1984.

The one exception appears to be an unusually sharp gain in the
writing skills of 8th graders between 1990 and 1992. The jump was so
substantial that officials delayed releasing the report while they
explored whether the trend was due to a technical error. So far, the
findings appear to hold up.

"In writing, we know that the number of 8th-grade children who are
receiving at least an hour of writing instruction per week has
increased from 70 percent to 85 percent since 1988," Mr. Riley said.
"This might be one explanation for the sharp rise in writing scores for
8th graders since 1990, but at this point we want to be cautious and
wait for more trend results before coming to any certain
conclusion."

Changes in Coursetaking

Federal officials attributed the hard-won gains in science and math,
in part, to changes in the courses students are taking. Between 1986
and 1992, more students studied higher-level science at age 17 and
higher-level math at ages 13 and 17. Technology and computer use also
soared.

To bring about the same kinds of improvement in reading and writing,
Mr. Riley urged parents to spend more time with their children. "We
know that attitudes and achievement in reading and writing are greatly
influenced by what goes on in the home," he said.

"Children who read and are read to, who see their parents read, who
have a variety of reading materials in the home, and who write letters
or notes at home read and write better."

The study found that in 1992, fewer students reported having at
least four types of reading materials in their homes--books, magazines,
newspapers, and encyclopedias--than in 1971. The amount of time spent
reading for fun remained unchanged.

Stalled Progress

Progress has also stalled since the mid-1980's in closing the
achievement gap between minority and white students. In 1992, both
black and Hispanic youngsters, on average, performed significantly less
well than did white students.

"I am afraid that too many of our minority youth--young people who
have the potential to learn--are using ignorance as a symbol of their
own despair," Mr. Riley said. "We need to turn this type of thinking
around."

Studies have found family income to correlate strongly with student
performance. As part of NAEP, the Education Department had proposed
field-testing two parent surveys in 1995 that would ask about family
income and other school-related information. But those plans have run
into a snag.

Last month, the National Assessment Governing Board, which sets
policy for NAEP, passed a resolution against the proposal. Board
members expressed concern that parents would view the questions as an
invasion of their privacy. They also worried about the length,
reliability, and cost of the surveys.

Federal officials have been dissatisfied with the accuracy and
reliability of the information on socioeconomic status that they now
collect from students.

"One of the questions that's always asked is, 'What is the
relationship between NAEP scores and socioeconomic status?' said
Emerson J. Elliott, the commissioner for the National Center for
Education Statistics, which operates the assessment. "We don't have a
good measure of that at all, because all the information we get is
always from students, where we ask for things like parents' level of
education or proxies like how many books are in the home."

Mr. Elliott said he would like the two bodies to agree on the
surveys, although the N.C.E.S. has the authority to proceed on its own.
The proposal will be discussed again at the board's next meeting in
November. The center has no plans yet to include the surveys as part of
its regular NAEP assessments.

Copies of the "1992 National Assessment of Educational Progress
Trend Report," prepared by the N.C.E.S., are available from the
Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, P.O. Box
371954, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15250-7954. The stock number is
065-000-00672-3. Call the G.P.O. Order Desk at (202) 512-1800 for
prices.

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